The first two lines of this verse are parallel, describing the suffering of the cattle; the third line gives the reason; and the last line resembles the first two lines, giving intensity and emphasis to the statement.
How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed: The word How does not introduce a question but serves as an intensifier, so the first line may be rendered “The beasts groan very much” or “… very loudly.” In some languages it may have more impact to translate “Listen how the beasts groan!”
Beasts and herds of cattle are parallel and mean the same thing. According to ACGS, the Hebrew word for beasts could refer to all domesticated animals here. Good News Translation has simply “cattle” since it reduces the first two lines into one. New Revised Standard Version uses “animals” in the first line. Cattle refers to those large animals, domesticated, cud-chewing, hoofed, and horned, from which people derive milk and meat, and which are sometimes used as draft animals. Sheep and goats may or may not be included in this term, depending on the context. In this context this is unlikely, since the sheep are referred to separately in the fourth line. It is therefore legitimate to translate “cows” in the receptor language, if there is no more generic term.
The verb groan normally refers to human sighing or moaning, but it is used poetically here of cattle “bellowing in distress” (Good News Translation). The verb perplexed gives the impression of cattle wandering aimlessly, confused, as they seek pasture. New Revised Standard Version has “wander about.” Good News Translation leaves the confusion implicit.
Because there is no pasture for them: Pasture here does not mean a place for cattle to graze, but the grass, which the locusts and drought have destroyed. This line may be rendered “because there is no grass for them to eat.”
Even the flocks of sheep are dismayed: Flocks renders the same Hebrew word as herds, whether large or small animals, but English usage requires the synonym flocks when used with sheep. The Hebrew term for sheep can include sheep and goats, but sheep are referred to more regularly. Sheep fit the description of cattle but are smaller, about the size of very large dogs. Not only do sheep provide meat, but their hair is the wool used in making cloth. The large, hollow horns of the male, the ram, are used as trumpets and as containers of liquids, especially olive oil.
Are dismayed is better translated “suffer” (Good News Translation). It is implied that the people have sinned, causing God’s wrath in the form of the locust plague and the drought, and now the animals are forced to share in the suffering. New Jerusalem Bible expresses this idea with “bear the punishment,” and De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling says “are punished.” Prior to this verse there has been no clear statement that the plague of locusts and the drought are the result of man’s sin. Verse 15 mentions the day of Yahweh, a day of judgment, which only implies that the people have sinned.
Quoted with permission from de Blois, Kees & Dorn, Louis. A Handbook on Joel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .